We are going through times of great change and we are all aware of that. The role of women in the field of architecture is becoming more and more relevant and, unlike other times, such as in the 20th century, the female figure is no longer hidden behind the male figure, as happened to Anne Tyng with Louis Kahn or Lilly Reich with Mies van der Rohe, just to mention a few examples.
The rise of co-living has begun to radically shape interior design. In residential projects and commercial developments, co-living is tied to the emergence of the Kitchenless Home idea. Began by Spanish architect Anna Puigjaner, this idea is tied to a range of innovations in interior design and co-living that have been built over the last five years. In turn, these new interiors began to tell a story of housing and spatial experience rooted in modern life.
Spanish architect Anna Puigjaner has revealed how she is applying her “Kitchenless” housing typology within her own projects in a recent interview with Metropolis Magazine as one of their 2018 Game Changers. After receiving funding from the Harvard GSD Wheelwright Prize for her controversial proposition in 2016 (after which ArchDaily published an interview with her), Puigjaner talks about the time she spent traveling the world and visiting the many different cultures that share her idea of communal cooking, adding that millennials are more inclined to co-habit or share resources.
The kitchen is the most provocative part of the house. It has been used as a political tool for a long time, to the point that nowadays we can’t accept living without a kitchen.
Architect Anna Puigjaner imagines a future in which housing is suited to the needs of its inhabitants. Sometimes that happens to mean not having a kitchen. Her project “Kitchenless” has received the Wheelwright Prize from Harvard University, along with an endowment of $100,000 for research on existing models of communal residences worldwide.
Puigjaner and the other members of the Maio firm work alongside professionals from other disciplines in a beautiful spot in the Gracia district in Barcelona, which functions more as a co-working space than a conventional architectural office. The Maio team opted for this place in 2011, during the crisis, so in order to hold on to it they decided to open the space to other workers. In 2016 they could afford to be alone, but there isn’t any compelling reason for them to do it. This could be a summary of their philosophy and is surely one of the reasons why Puigjaner received the Wheelwright Prize, a unique prize among architecture awards as it doesn’t focus on a specific work or research but the relationship between the two, in direction and ideas.
She does the interview from her office and talks about the changes that lie ahead for the future of housing:
Harvard GSD has announced the four shortlisted architects for the 2016 Wheelwright Prize. Awarded annually, the $100,000 grant is for travel-based architectural research.
Selected from 200 applications from nearly 45 countries worldwide, the four finalists are from Italy, Spain and Chile. Each finalist will present their work and proposal on April 20. This year’s jury includes Eva Franch, Jeannie Kim, Kiel Moe, Rafael Moneo, Benjamin Prosky, Mohsen Mostafavi, and K. Michael Hays.
![Call for Papers: Bracket [On Sharing] - Featured Image](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5a67/49f0/f197/cc69/0100/03b7/medium_jpg/open-uri20180123-21405-bbfo4v.jpg?1516718559)